Kenya

Kenya’s geographic diversity upholds a phenomenal range of wildlife. With probably the most popular national parks globally, a Kenya safari offers a significant concentration of small and extensive national parks. A safari in this country implies a chance to interact with the wildlife directly and fall in love with this astounding East African country. Because of its fluctuating stormy season, Kenya invites more animals on board than the adjoining countries in Africa. You can spot the biggest buffalo in Africa, known as Cape Buffalo in Kenya, among the ‘Big 5’ or top 5 animals in Kenya. The others on the list incorporate African Elephant, Leopard, East African Lion, Black and White Rhinoceros. You will find Giraffe gazelle, Somali Ostrich, Grevy’s Zebra, reticulated Giraffe, and East African Oryx in the northern zone. Nile crocodile and Black-backed jackal are among a few of the top predators in the Kenya animals list. Birds like Gray-headed Kingfisher, starling, lilac-breasted roller, red-bellied parrot, and little honey bee-eater can likewise be found in Kenya. Apart from the ‘Big Five,’ Kenya is home to gazelles, impalas, zebras, pronghorn, waterbucks, wildebeest, and Maasai giraffes. Big cats incorporate cheetahs, serval, civets, and the caracal. Primates in Kenya include olive and yellow mandrills and colobus, golden monkeys, and vervets. Kenya also has the “Little Five,” which comprises the antlion, elephant vixen, rhinoceros beetle, leopard tortoise, and buffalo weaver. 

Kenya is one of the world’s best bird-watching destinations. A national checklist of around 1,000 species places it among the world’s top 15 nations with regard to avian variety. More than 1,135 bird species possess the nation, including the world’s biggest bird, the ostrich, and one of the smallest, the sunbird. Flamingos fly in large numbers in Kenya because of their distinctive pink plumage, and it’s a spectacular sight to see. Tourists from all over the globe come to Kenya’s soda lakes to witness the brilliant spectacle of shimmering pink birds wading in the shallow waters.

Kenya additionally has assorted marine wildlife. An all-year attraction is the vivid reef fish that proliferate diving and swimming sites in the reefs offshore of Malindi, Watamu, Mombasa, and Diani. Other, more seasonal, marine wildlife incorporates dolphins, marine turtles, whale sharks, and manta rays. 

Even though you can explore the wildlife in Kenya throughout the year, the months of June till October are the best to visit Kenya as it is the dry season here. Around this time, wildebeest migration happens from Serengeti in Tanzania to Masai Mara in Kenya.

What to expect in Kenya?

• Multiple Safaris: In Kenya, you may take as many safaris as you like and visit the country’s most famous national parks to get a closer look at the animals.
• Year-Round Fauna: The only place in the world where you can see fauna all year is Kenya, where there are lots of animals to see on every safari.
• Migrating Animals: Every year, about 2 million wildebeests migrate to Kenya in search of green grass to survive on. 
• Vast Terrain Variety: Kenya is one of the few countries with mountains, plains, beaches, and rivers.
• Internationally Recognized: Kenya’s wildlife is well-known worldwide, attracting a large number of tourists each year.

Some of the best places to explore wildlife in Kenya-

• Tsavo National Park– It is one of Kenya’s oldest and largest parks, covering 13,747 square kilometers. It is one of the best places to see wildlife. From crocodiles and hippos to antelopes and lions, you can see anything here.
• Maasai Mara National Park- It is a vast national game reserve near Narok, Kenya, and Tanzania’s Serengeti National Park borders that. It is known worldwide for its extraordinary lion, African leopard, cheetah, and African bush elephant populations.
• Samburu Savannah– A hidden gem of its sort, located a short distance from Nairobi, Samburu is home to multiple herds of African elephants, lions, leopards, and even crocodiles soaking in the sun on the Ewaso Nyiro river banks.
• Lake Nakuru- This lake is covered by Lake Nakuru National Park, located south of Nakuru in Kenya’s rift valley. The lake draws many flamingos, which used to line the coastline. Other birds and warthogs, baboons, and other large animals thrive in the area. You can also spot animals like eastern black rhinos and southern white rhinos. 
• Amboseli National Park– It is a national park in Kajiado County’s Kajiado South Constituency. It boasts 400 species of birds, including pelicans, kingfishers, crakes, hamerkop, and 47 raptor species, making it one of the best places in the world to spot wildlife. Elephants, zebras, hyenas, and wildebeests can all be seen here.
• Lake Naivasha- Naivasha is located northwest of Nairobi, Kenya’s capital, and is part of the great rift valley area. Lake Nakuru is a soda lake famous for its massive flamingo population and other aquatic birds. The lake is home to a diverse range of fauna, including over 400 distinct bird species and a large hippos population.
• Lake Elementaita- Lake Elementaita is one of the key feeding lakes for the Lesser flamingo and is one of Kenya’s lesser-known ‘soda lakes’ or salty lakes in the Great Rift Valley. In the region, around 450 bird species have been recognized. Great white pelicans and lesser and larger flamingos have the biggest numbers.
• Lake Bogoria- Bogoria is surrounded by mountains, boiling hot springs, and steaming geysers, and is located in the more remote northern Rift Valley. In recent years, this has become Kenya’s finest lake for spotting huge flocks of flamingos. The beauty, flamingos, and lack of tourists are the reserve’s primary attractions.